Even the Songbird has Claws
by Ali Nowac
Summary: When Ezio Auditore is terribly wounded, a little songbird decides to take up the blade and her brother's place in the centuries old war between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order.
1. Even the Songbird has Claws

**A/N: I've always wanted to write something like this, so I had started it a while ago, but never finished it. I finally have and I apologize if it's a little rushed feeling, I'm tired and should really be asleep. I do not own these characters. Please read and review and check out other things I've written! **

**_Even the Songbird has Claws_**

The Rosa in Fiore was abuzz with activity when the doors opened. Claudia Auditore looked up from where she'd been looking through some papers. Poised by the doorway was her brother, looking dark and lonesome in that costume of his. She forced herself to smile, advancing towards him. "Welcome to the Rosa in Fiore; as you can see, the most popular brothel in Roma." Their eyes met and his frame wobbled. She rushed to him as his legs buckled, struggling to keep him upwards. "Ezio!?"

His entire side was drenched in his blood, some leaking from his lips as he coughed. She screamed for help, holding him in her arms as his head fell backwards and his body went limp. La Volpe was beside her in moments as he'd been to see what they'd done with the brothel, helping to get Ezio up. "We'll get him upstairs," he said, and Claudia proceeded to help him best she could, ignoring the chatter of the girls and the presence of their mother beside her.

They laid Ezio down on one of the beds and La Volpe stripped the costume off of Claudia's brother. Beneath he wore a plain white tunic, now stained red with his blood. He grabbed a towel and threw it to Claudia. "Keep pressure on it," he commanded, turning and running out, his cape twirling about after him.

Claudia did as she was told, pressing the towel into her brother's wound, her throat constricting. The cloth was red in moments. On the other side of the bed, Maria was gazing down at her only living son, tears in her eyes. She lowered herself onto the bed, placing her palm against her son's cheek. She murmured softly to him, but Claudia couldn't hear what she was saying. It was then that La Volpe raced back in, followed by a doctor, who began muttering to himself in Italian when he saw the wound.

He brushed aside both Claudia and La Volpe, grabbing for his tools. "Had you called any later," he mused, "there would have no hope."

"Can you help him?" asked Claudia, her voice rising a few octaves in fear.

The doctor sent her a look. "Perhaps," he replied, making a shooing motion as he backed up out the door, shutting it in her face. She sat on the chair opposite the door for the longest time. Her mother had paced for a long while before La Volpe forced her into her room and gave her a tonic from the doctor to help her sleep. When at last the doctor stepped out the room with the words, 'I have done what I can', Claudia slipped inside and took up vigil in the chair beside her brother's bed.

She sat for a long time, just watching the rise and fall of his chest, and carefully placing cold washrags on his forehead when a sweat broke out across his skin. She bit at her lip and glanced down at her hands. She fingered the Assassin symbol pendant to prove she was an ally of their Brotherhood. She glanced back up at her brother and then down at the symbol.

She slid the chain around her neck and placed it beside Ezio's bed. She rose from the chair and turned towards his robes. Her's were still being stitched to fit her figure. She wet her lips and stepped over and glanced back at her sleeping brother. They were around the same height…

Claudia Auditore cinched the belt and fixed the cuffs. She tried the hidden blade, almost expecting herself to flinch as it sprung free with a soft _shing!_ She glanced back, as though afraid Ezio would wake at the slightest noise. She took a breath and went to his side, touching his shoulder. "You're not the only one who can avenge our family, brother…" She paused and took a deep breath, cleansing her mind before flipping up the hood and leaping out the window and into the streets.


	2. Even the Innocent are Dangerous

**A/N: One or two asked for another chapter of this, and quite a few of you followed it, so I'm assuming that meant you were secretly hoping I would give in to your desires and write another chapter? You hoped right! I really do love the idea of Claudia taking up Ezio's sword and throwing herself into the world she's never really experienced. This is the mission "Human Cargo" with Claudia as our heroine. I chose this one because I thought the interaction between the kid and Ezio was just adorable. Also, I thought it would be a good starting mission for Claudia. This one is quite a bit longer than the first one, so enjoy!**

**As always, I do not own any ****_Assassin's Creed _****character mentioned here. Please read and review! **

* * *

_**Even the Innocent are Dangerous**_

Down the alley, Claudia ducked, her heart racing. Not even two minutes of pulling her hood up and she was already regretting it. No. She couldn't afford thoughts like that. She was an Assassin, her brother had accepted her into the Order. And she was going to make him proud. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and hauled herself up the side of the building, rolling onto it and flattening herself against. She covered her mouth with a hand and listened to the shouts that drifted up from the guards. "_Merda_!" One cursed. "I lost the _bastardo_!"

There was muttering as the guards turned and hurried down another street, probably hoping to catch sight of her. She took a deep breath, listened hard to make sure they had gone and then dragged herself to her feet. She checked the distance between the next building and the one she stood on. She'd be fine. She'd seen Ezio do it hundreds of times, plus she'd already jumped off the hideout on Tiber Island. This was nothing compared to that leap of faith.

Claudia Auditore sucked in a breath and took off running, pumping her arms. She put everything she had into the jump, clearing the gap and falling into a roll that brought her right back up onto her feet. She was off running again in seconds, clearing the next jump with ease, her heart racing. Her blood thundered through her veins, a butterflies dancing in her stomach. So this was what it felt like. This is how it felt to be an Assassin; truly be one. This is what her brother didn't want her to feel. This ecstacy. This _freedom_.

She skidded to a halt, a few shingles skittering away from the sudden pause in her flow of movement. She looked down at the burn on her finger. Was she not her father's daughter? Did she not have the same rights as Ezio did to avenge their family? She set her face, shaking her head. She didn't want to just be his informat anymore. She wanted to be out here. She wanted to be his partner, no matter how dangerous. She thought, _I am Giovanni Auditore da Firenze's only daughter, and I can bring honor to our name just as well as you can, _fratello mio_. _

She raised her foot to continue her race across the buildings of Roma when a noise assaulted her eardrums. She tilted her head to the side, listening. Crying. Sniffling tears, muffled by fabric. She moved carefully towards to edge of the building she occupied and crouched. Her eyes fluttered closed and then blinked slowly back open, allowing the strange vision to overtake her. The male down and to her right was a guard, the female across the street was a citizen and _yes_! That small child near the docks was crying softly into his arm.

Blinking away her Eagle Vision, Claudia skirted to the edge of the building and grabbed the edge with her hands dangling down and dropping to the streets. She sent a quick glance about, then went forward, moving slowly and keeping her head down. She rounded the corner and slowly allowed her hood to come down as she approached the small child. "_Piccolo_," she offered in a gentle coo, "why are you crying?" She lowered herself into a sitting position beside the young boy.

A single ripple of pain went through her heart when the child lifted his head. His eyes were a deep brown, blurred by the tears brimming in his eyes. His face was round and youthful and he wore clothes that signified his parents were not of the wealthy sort and Claudia suddenly felt odd in her brother's robes, adorned with fancy armor and assorted sheaths. However, the pain in her heart was caused by his uncanny resemblance to Petruccio. Her little brother had looked much like this small boy when he had been younger. She bit at her lip and reigned in her emotions.

"They took my mama on a boat," the boy hiccuped, "they said I'll be next to go." The thought sent another wave of sobs tumbling forth from the child's lips and Claudia draped an arm across his shoulders, tugging him closer to her side.

She laid a motherly kiss against the top of his head as he burrowed into her side. "Who?" she asked in her soothing voice.

The boy's shoulders bobbed in a weak shrug. "Bad men," he said, "bad men from the castle… They're scary…"

Claudia gently thumbe away some of his tears. "Yes, but they're not so scary if you're brave… And you seem like a brave _bambino_." He looked up at her and tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it. "I will find your mother," she promised gently. "Where did they go?"

The boy gave another hiccup. "Down the street…"

She sent a glance that way and nodded. "Do you have somewhere to go?"

A nod. "My uncle's."

"Go there." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

The boy gave her a hug and scampered off, leaving Claudia alone on the dock. She swallowed a wave of emotion and got to her feet. She checked her hidden blade, satisfied at the _shing!_ Then she melted into the crowds. She had a slaver to find.

* * *

It would be easy, Claudia had told herself after hauling herself onto another roof. It was only than, that she realized she had no idea what a slaver looked like. She inwardly groaned and wished she'd asked the boy what this slaver had looked like. She opened up her Eagle Vision and surveyed the crowds beneath her, biting her lip in concentration, searching for anything that would give someone who- _Oh!_

"We must ensure the kidnappings continue." He was a lean man, wearing dark clothes accented by bright yellow. His boots themselves were that putrid golden. His cloak billowed behind him, the back of his head hidden by the fur piled on his shoulders. _Fop_, Claudia hissed to herself, shaking her head as she eased herself across to the next rooftop, keeping one eye on this fopish slaver and his female companion.

She was a pretty thing, clad in a long melon colored dress, her dark hair straighter than a pin. She paused at the slaver's words, casting a glance at him. "But _children_, Silvestro," she said and Silvestro seemed unperturbed by her tone.

"Fear keeps them quiet," replied Silvestro nonchalantly, "Cesare needs to keep the populace in check."

"I can hardly look at you," grumbled the woman.

"Please, Valencia," said Silvestro, "soon all this will be behind us."

"Are you afraid of him?" asked the woman, Valencia suddenly and Claudia paused just as Silvestro did. Though Claudia tilted her head in curiousity while Silvestro bawled up his fists in barely contained anger.

"Who?" He tried to brush it off. "I am afraid of no one." He puffed out his chest and Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Did he do that to your hand?" challenged Valencia then stepped back, eyes wide. "I'm sorry," she amended, "that was out of line."

Silvestro ground his teeth together. "Please go," he growled.

"I am sorry," replied Valencia, before doing as the slaver asked. She left, melting in through the crowd; leaving Silvestro alone. He grumbled out words to himself, words that Claudia hardly cared out.

"I will have her killed," he snarled, walking, fingers inching towards his sword. "No, I will kill her myself." His eyes darkened. "That _putana_! How dare she speak of my hand!? Ignorant fool, she has never served a higher cause."

Or perhaps, Silvestro not as alone as he thought. Claudia Auditore detached herself from the roof and hit the ground beside him, her legs protesting at the impact. Silvestro swung around, his sword swinging free from its scabbard in a silver arc. "Surrender and you will live, scum," he hissed and Claudia's hidden blade jumped free.

He rushed at her and she dodged by a hair. She swept her leg, hoping to trip him but he saw through her and hooked his leg around her, dropping her. An _umphf _escaped her as her body collided with the cobblestones. Her vision darkened at the impact between her head and the ground, and she barely managed to roll to the right before Silvestro's sword slammed into where she'd just been.

Struggling to her feet, Claudia distanced herself from the slaver, deciding against the hidden blade for the point. She pulled her brother's long sword, testing it's weight. The pitter of booted feet caught her attention and she spun on her heels in time to parry a blow towards her neck. She pushed back on her enemy's sword, flicking her wrist and plunging the hidden blade into his neck. She turned away before she could see the blood flood out of the wound.

She spun out of the way of another attack, throwing down a smoke bomb and ricocheting off the wall, taking down two of the slaver's backup guards. Before he was even done coughing on the smoke, Claudia had sliced the throat of the last backup and had retreated to a corner where she too regained her breath. She put her hand to her heart, it's beat rapid beneath her fingertips.

Maybe this was what her brother hadn't wanted her to feel. The sick adrenaline. The _fear_.

A loud growl of frustration brought her back from her thoughts. Silvestro was nearly tripping over his feet as he spun around in a circle, desperately searching for a sign of her white robes. "I will find you, _assassino_!" He screamed, sword hand shaking with rage.

"You won't have to look very far, _signore_," offered Claudia, shoving her blade up in between his shoulder blades. The slaver's eyes widened and he gasped, hands flying to his chest in attempt to stop the blood flow.

Claudia ripped the blade out and lowered the slaver to the ground. "_Requiescant en pace,_" she said over his dying body as she nicked the keys and went to free the slaves.

* * *

The lonely figure, shrouded in darkness, watched from across the way as the small child embraced his mother. Both of them were in tears, holding each other close. The figure's knuckles dashed across her face and a noise of emotion caught in her throat. She took a quivering breath and turned away from the scene. She had thought that she'd gotten used to the fact that nearly the entirety of her family was gone.

Apparently not.

Two brothers: dead. A father: dead. A mother: once again numb to the world. The only brother that really mattered anymore: possibly dead or dying. And her? What was she? An excuse for an Assassin? Could she even call herself part of the Brotherhood?

Her hands were still shaking. Had Ezio's hands shook the first time he killed someone? Did he look down at his hands, at the blood caked in his fingernails? Did he stare at the red staining his skin and stumble backwards, as if to distance himself from his own lack of decency? Or had he simply wiped off the red, and walked away as the water washed it downstream?

Perhaps this is what her brother hadn't wanted her to feel.

The pain. The _guilt_.


End file.
